Ray Mirra Pharmaceutical Biography

         Biography of Ray Mirra pharmaceuticals

Ray Mirra pharmaceuticals was established by Ray R. Weil, M.D. in 1982. Raymond Mirra received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign and pursued graduate studies in the University of Michigan Medical School at Detroit. During this time, he was studying the effects of nicotine on patients with lung cancer. From his studies, he began to develop the Ray Mirra pharmaceuticals brand of oral cessation medications. Currently, he is the president, and co-founder of the supplement company that bears his name, as well as the distribution company, Vitalzym.

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As a young man, Ray E. Mills was a student of the famous psychiatrist, Dr. Emil Kraepelin. According to his medical journal articles, he became disenchanted with the psychoanalytic approach to diagnosis and treatment of patients and felt that patients were better served when there was a fixed set of rules that could be utilized in diagnosis and treatment. When it came to drug development, however, he remained with his mentor and became a practicing psychotherapist for many years, before he began to focus on pharmaceutical development. He continued to work in the Chicago area, participating in charity work, while also working to complete his master's degree in medicinal chemistry at the University of Chicago.

The biographer, Robert Davis, does an excellent job of chronicling Ray's work in the business world. While not a clinical psychologist, he does present an alternative view of drug development. He views Ray as more of an entrepreneur than a therapist, and credits him with helping to popularize the Mirra formulation, and with helping to create a favorable atmosphere for independent research into the therapeutic uses of essential oils. While not a professional writer, Robert Davis has written an impressive number of biographies and reviews, drawing on his own experience with Ray Mirra products.

                        Raymond Mirra Private life

The biographer also provides an inside look at Ray's private life. This includes a revealing look at Ray Mirra parents' marriage problems, his coming out as gay in high school, and his decision to leave home to study abroad. It also covers Ray's time spent working with autistic children, his time as a research scientist with the National Institute of Mental Health, and his time as a medical assistant.

Ray's major achievements in his career were a development of an anti-malarial drug, Benozil, and an antifungal, Trispolium, as well as the development of an anticoagulant, Walchodil, which he used to treat arthritis. He is also credited with developing a new method for delivering medication in tablet form. He and his staff would open the packages at night and read the prescriptions aloud to patients, making sure they understood exactly what the drug was and how it should be used. Mirra is also credited with developing and promoting many pharmaceutical products including an antisychrotic drug for varicose veins. Ray is also credited with creating the first female Viagra, a treatment for vaginal dryness, and with discovering and introducing the monoclonal anti-inflammatory drug, omeprazole.

The biographer also provides information about Ray's innovative work as a drug development engineer. This includes his efforts to design and test a new type of catheter that would remove patients' blood from their bodies without the need for a needle. This would allow more accurate tests on various blood disorders. Additionally, the biographer provides background on Ray's time as a staff scientist in the pharmaceutical division of Genex Pharmaceuticals where he was responsible for the development of the company's Primaquine and Descriptive Drug discovery programs. He later became a professor at the University of California at Davis, teaching courses in both biochemistry and biopharmaceutical engineering.

      Biographers in Ray Mirra Pharmaceuticals

The biographer also provides a concise timeline detailing key events and places that were important in Ray's career. It reveals much about his time away from work, his achievements while employed, and the responsibilities and sacrifices that were required of him while employed. Additionally, the biography provides an insight into Ray's relationship with his wife, Ellen DeGeneres, during his career. This section includes a timeline detailing their engagement and the birth of their son, Harry.

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Finally, the biographer includes an exhaustive list of footnotes and bibliography, which end with an assessment of the book's overall importance and a concluding review of the reader's perspective on the book. Finally, the book is illustrated with color photographs throughout. The biographer is well aware of the challenges in publishing a book as small and detailed as this one, having personally written only a limited amount of material. However, the challenges do not deter the biographer from sharing his knowledge and experiences as a means of helping other people.